Liberals showing signs of Leadership Deficit Disorder

Could it be that the Liberals are just going to give up? According to columnist Chantal Hebert, more and more party members are inclined to forget about a long rebuild of the party, and would prefer to sign up Justin Trudeau as leader in hopes he can miraculously reverse the party’s slide to oblivion.

She maintains that the search for a game-changing leadership move ithin the ranks of the diminished party has gained momentum since the NDP convention.

Within the ranks of the diminished party, the search for a game-changing leadership move has gained momentum since the NDP convention.

Its proponents argue that settling into a third-place niche for as long as it takes to rebuild the party from the ground up is simply not a viable option. Nor do they think the party has the luxury of giving a rookie leader two mandates to grow into the job.

Opting for Trudeau, of course, would negate all the brave talk about whipping the battered party back into fighting shape with a root-and-branch reformation project. Forget about bold new ideas, cutting-edge policies, a rejection of the crabbed Canada they claim Stephen Harper is foisting on an unsuspecting population. Nevermind promises of new leadership, a broader membership, a vision of Canada and Canadians that voters can embrace in all their multicultural glory, firmly replanting the party at the commanding crest of national politics.

Nah, let’s get pick Justin and hope for the best. You can understand the thinking: it must be demoralizing when they hold a big meeting in Toronto, all the party’s stars are there, and hardly anyone bothers to cover it.

Fortunately, Justin seems reluctant to bite just yet. He tells Paul Wells of Maclean’s that there’s no way he’s about to do risk the damage to his family that his father’s years at the top did to him and his brothers and mother.

“Nobody knows better than I do what the pressures of party leadership can do to a young family,” he said. “It tore mine apart.”

He also seems to be more in touch with reality than the Liberals who would immediately make him king for a day.

“My sense is that leaders will not be able to do it alone. It has to be led from a movement, a team that involves more than just the leader. A lot of strong voices that remove the emphasis a little bit on leader.”

Wells thinks he should run anyway. Maybe he means it, though, considering most of the Maclean’s brain trust used to work at the National Post, it could just be an elaborate ploy to goad Trudeau into grabbing the ring before he’s prepared, thus ending any danger of him doing so later, when he might represent a legitimate threat to the Conservatives. I wouldn’t put it past them.